A potential Donald Trump-Marco Rubio presidential ticket could face complications due to a little-known provision in the Constitution’s 12th Amendment. The amendment dictates that at least one of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates must be from a different state than the electors casting their votes.
While it’s possible for Trump to select Rubio as his running mate, the Constitution does not prohibit it. However, if the pair were to win Florida, which has 30 Electoral College votes, it would create logistical issues.
In a typical presidential election, a candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes to win. A Trump-Rubio ticket would require at least 285 electoral votes to triumph, assuming Trump wins his 2020 states, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
To overcome this hurdle, Florida’s 30 electors would need to follow a specific protocol. Half would vote Trump for president and a placeholder candidate for vice president, while the other half would leave their presidential vote blank and vote for Rubio.
If Trump wins Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin but not Pennsylvania, he would need 24 of Florida’s electors to vote for him to secure the presidency, leaving only six electors to vote for Rubio. This would place Rubio in second place behind Kamala Harris, who would have 264 electoral votes.
In this scenario, the Senate would choose the vice president from among the top two vote-getters. If the Senate is controlled by Republicans, Rubio could potentially be elected vice president. However, the situation becomes more complicated if Democrats control the Senate.
If the Republicans controlled a majority of House delegations, a Trump-Rubio ticket could still win, albeit through a convoluted process. The House would choose the president among the top three vote-getters, with the winner being determined by which party controls a majority of state delegations in the next Congress.
